Toil and Trouble
by Alu In Chains
Summary: Just a series of movie-based one-shots that take place nine years after the movie. May a full story later on. Rated for language. Latest addition: Contemplations.
1. Polite

**A/N:** Don't worry guys! Not starting a whole new story yet. This is just a collection of one-shots that may turn into a story on a later date but until then I'll keep doing these to sort of build up tension between Irene and Froglip.

This one is named **Polite** and actually gives the full layout of the setting for these one-shots, for they'll all be related somehow. This is Irene and Froglip's first meeting about nine years after the events in the movie. This is a little fast-paced but so will all the others be. I hope you enjoy them as they are, they're only written for laughs and to try to better myself at humor. Any suggestions or questions, feel free to ask!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Princess and The Goblin.

* * *

Turnip sat at the feet of his owner in silence, listening to her low grumbling while she silently, in the most lady-like fashion she could, cursed everything. The old cat looked tiredly up at the princess and could hardly see her harsh expression past her folded arms, her bickering becoming louder and more annoyed.

And then she snapped.

"It isn't fair!" her still soft, wispy voice cried. The sound bounced off the trees and rocks and echoed right back at her. She hoped that her cry had reached all the way down to the village, which she had a nice view of on the highest cliff in the mountain. She could see everything from up here, even the castle and all of it's towers and brick walls. Turnip was quite sure that if everyone in the village, and even in the castle, stood quiet and still for just a moment they could hear her angry shout from up in the mountains.

Which is exactly what the Princess had wanted.

Irene's hands had come down to her sides in the midst of her yelling, now taking a few short, huffed breaths while trying hard not to sob. No, she wasn't going to that. She was too angry. A good part of her was wanting to scream as many curses she could from the hill top, damning him for doing this to her.

But that wouldn't be very lady-like now would it?

The Princess had never been this angry before. But honestly, what was she to do?

"I waited for you!" she screamed again, the sound coming from deep within her gut, "I did everything I could to BE WITH YOU!"

Her midsection hurt from the screaming but for the moment the pain was quite comforting. Turnip wanted to meow softly, and to remind the girl that he was still here. But before he could gather the courage to interrupt her tantrum, Irene began to pace back and forth.

"This is so… embarrassing. Horribly embarrassing and to think that I would be such a fool!" she yelled, nowhere near as loud as she had last time, and continued pacing over and over again.

"Oh, Turnip… what am I to do?" she broke down and asked sadly, kneeling down before the cat, "I'm nineteen years of age and still haven't married."

The cat meowed a reply and climbed into her lap. Irene stroked his fur softly and bit her lip out of thought.

Most princes around the area had already married, and Irene didn't mind that. She didn't want to marry a prince, she wanted to marry… someone else. But no, Grandmother insisted that she begin to learn magic now before it's 'too late,' whatever that means. But while she had been busy with that, Father had also feared that Irene would never marry due to her determination to be with that miner boy. So now she was spending half her time learning magic she could hardly handle, and the other half learning how to run this kingdom on her own.

Thus, she hardly had any time to spend with Curdie.

Irene had a good hunch that her father was also doing this to separate the two. Though the King had owed a good debt to the boy due to his saving the Princess, he was still forbidden to take her hand in marriage. But while they were still young, her being ten and he being eleven, her father didn't mind the two being friends. He didn't realize that they would still hold onto their 'puppy love' all the way up to near adult hood. And when she had turned fourteen, that is when she started gradually becoming too busy for Curdie.

It wasn't her fault though! This is where it wasn't fair.

For the next five years Irene's responsibilities had started piling up. As a child when first facing the goblins she had hardly any at all and the lesson she had learned in that was to face her fears on her own. Now she was having to learn how to face_ everything _on her own, and that wasn't easy. In fact, it had hardened her quite a bit and rather than being the sweet little girl she was years ago, Irene was now losing patience easily with some things. Everything was piling up, she hasn't had any room to breathe, and growing up from a sweet little princess into a frustrated queen was dawning on her. She was horribly imbalanced with her responsibilities and patience and was doing her best to keep that sweet smile on her face.

But that wasn't why she was so upset.

Father had decided to give her the day off and, after much persuading, convinced Grandmother to allow her a day off as well. When she succeeded in getting so much time to herself Irene didn't hesitate to go and find Curdie. It had been nearly a month since she had last seen him so naturally she had been looking forward to it.

After grabbing her cloak and wearing the most least expensive dress she owned, Irene had made a bee-line for the market in hopes that she could find him there. It was annoying enough to be addressed by nearly every person in the castle when she was simply going to the kitchen, so she did her best to avoid the attention while out in just the village.

She hadn't been out in so long, Irene didn't exactly look for him right away, marveling at some of the shops and their merchandise before turning the corner and finding what she had been looking for. From where she stood just at the end of the street, Irene could spot the back of Curdie's head. His hair had grown down to be shoulder-length, though he still wore his headband. Now that he was around twenty years of age he had also been wearing his father's clothing, which didn't look that different from when he was younger. Now he was just bigger, more masculine from working down in the mines and could fill his father's shoes perfectly.

The only thing that made her falter is the blonde head of hair standing next to him, delicate hands wrapped softly around his elbow as if he had been escorting her. Irene watched silently while the blonde, a girl with fair skin and large doe-like green eyes smiling up at _her_ Curdie while he held up a live turtle. The princess _swore_ she could hear their conversation from so far away, her giggling and gushing over the cute turtle while Curdie pulled out some of his savings to purchase it for her.

It was like something inside of her broke. Like all of the pressure put on her before hadn't phased her until she realized that she was gaining _nothing_ from it. She just wilted, right there, and didn't make her presence known.

And now here she was, setting Turnip back on the ground and beginning to pace back and forth again.

"Why would he do this to me?" she questioned out loud, pulling a twig out of her long red hair that now reached down below her bottom, "He told me he'd wait for the day we were allowed to marry."

Irene faltered, feeling more of her heart break. She felt another outburst coming, this time deeper than just from her gut.

"Oooooh I just want to… want to…!"

"Wring his neck?"

"Yes! And… and…"

"Break his spine?"

Turnip's ears perked up as the stranger had cut into their conversation. The cat slowly turned to look behind them and froze, his ears falling back and pressing against his skull. He began to paw at the princess' ankles in attempt to get her attention, which resulted in her walking away from him in her pacing.

"Yes, that too! And that girl… Oh I'd like to-"

"Rip out her hair, tie it into a noose and hang her from it?"

"YES!" Irene yelled, doing a fist pump into the air. Sure, she was angry and would most likely take all of these things back and pray to god for forgiveness of them, but at the moment every thing that was just suggested to her sounded absolutely lovely.

And then she faltered.

Who was she talking to?

Irene heard Turnip's scared cries and looked over her shoulder. Large yellow eyes looked back with a mischievous gleam in them, their owner leaned up against a rock wall about ten feet behind the princess. Her eyes shifted down to Turnip, and back at the creature still looking at her, looking as if he was about ready to bust a gut laughing.

She finally reacted by jumping out of her position with a loud yelp and backing up into a tree, even though she was well enough away from him that she could see if he were about to make a move.

"Y-you!" she screamed.

"Yes, me," the creature replied with a slight laugh in his tone, despite the lisp he still had in his voice.

"You!" she screamed again, her breathing becoming short, exasperated pants as she tried to process the situation.

"I think we've cleared that by now," the creature said in a bored manner while he began picking his nose, as if that were more entertaining than talking to her. Irene didn't move a muscle, the surprised and frightened expression still on her face while she watched him retrieve a large, yellow booger from his nose and play with it between his finger and his thumb. The silence between them continued like this for upwards three or four breaths before she realized she couldn't stand it anymore. What did he want and why was he here?

"What do you want, _Froglip_?" she asked while pressing her back further against the tree trunk like it would protect her. The girl had said his name with such distaste that the goblin she was addressing actually smirked a little because of it. Irene swallowed hard and didn't take her eyes off him, watching him flick the booger elsewhere in the woods while looking anywhere but at her.

"Well for one, this is my spot."

"Your spot?"

"_Yes_, my spot, and you've trespassed in it," the Goblin Prince replied sharply while glaring at her. Irene opened her mouth with a question on the way before he held up a hand and stopped her, while taking his right foot and pushing a shrub he had been standing by down. Behind said shrub was a hole in the wall, big enough for Froglip to crawl through, which probably lead down straight past the mines and into the goblin village.

"This is my spot when I want to come and marvel at what I could have owned by now," he said angrily, "But this time I only surfaced to tell whomever had found this spot to shut the hell up. You're going to wake Mother and if she wakes up early, she'll take it out on me!"

Irene blinked slowly while staring at Froglip, making him think for a second that she hadn't understood a word he said. After a second she let out a huff of breath without taking her eyes off of him, "So you're not here to kidnap me? And I thought your mother cherished you."

"Not yet," he replied coolly while taking his pinkie finger and picking his ear with it, "And to answer your second question, she _used_ to cherish me. But after I failed in retrieving _you_, she hasn't exactly been the best mother in the world."

"I'd trade you," Irene scoffed with a roll of her eyes before fixing them back on the Goblin. Part of her believed him when he said that he wasn't after her this time while another part said stay on your guard anyway.

The goblin faltered in picking his ear and pulled his pinkie out and simply wiping it on his cape while staring at the princess with a confused look.

"Come again?"

"I said I'd trade you."

"Why on earth would you want to trade mothers?" Froglip nearly exclaimed, almost completely annoyed that someone else would actually want to be in his position right now, "And I'd never trade you mothers in the first place but still… why?"

"Because my mother is dead," Irene put simply in harsh words that somewhat challenged him. Oh, so she wanted a mean contest didn't she? She'd certainly get that!

"That's not my problem," the goblin laughed, "How did she die anyway? Giving birth to _you_?"

Irene was taken off guard by such a nasty response and before she could stop herself, bared her teeth in a nasty snarl at him. Her fingers twitched while she chanted quietly, feeling the heat of the spell she was about to cast.

Froglip watched her, keeping his eyes squinted in a snarl of his own but didn't quite understand what she was doing. After a moment Irene recoiled, screeching in pain. He could hardly see it from his position but her wrist, for a split second, glowed a bright red and he could actually _smell_ the burning flesh from here.

"Oh I was sure that would work!" Irene cursed, nursing her wrist.

"What was _that_?"

"Well since you didn't quite get how obvious it should have been, that was magic."

"You're magic?"

"It runs in the royal family," Irene hissed while trying to make her wrist not burn as much. Eventually she settled for not touching it at all and holding it out so that it only stung and didn't feel completely agonizing, "It's actually how my mother died. Not by giving birth to me."

Froglip wanted to snort a reply just to see if she'd hurt herself again trying to cast another spell on him, but right now he was feeling too tired for that. He was woken up in the middle of the day just to come up here and find out the princess didn't exactly get her way with something. Big deal. But when you're woken up after only getting two or three hours of sleep, you'd be too tired to deal with this as well.

"Spells backfired on her a lot too, right?" he asked with a half laugh, earning a glare full of pure hatred sent his way. His smile broadened when he received it.

"If you don't learn to harness your magic, it will devour you. But attempting to harness it is just as deadly. I'm afraid my days are numbered as well if I keep making mistakes like these," she held up her wrist to show him the nasty burn mark that spiraled up her wrist, "Not like you would care though."

"Don't you have a prince to run off to?" Froglip yawned, sliding down into a sitting position against the rock. He was too tired to stand. Irene studied him for a moment and, after deciding he really wasn't here to steal her back, slid into a sitting position as well.

"You are the only single prince left in the area, and Curdie has… already found someone else," she murmured sadly while bringing her knees up to her chest and hugging them. The goblin prince looked at her with a half-frown, remembering that little Sun-boy she was so fond of. And him being the only single prince left? HAH! Froglip was around twenty-two now and has had more than enough ghouls to keep him busy. The only reason he hasn't married was because… well… he didn't want to stick to one.

"I mean, what does _she_ have that I don't?" Irene suddenly exploded. But then she faltered, thinking for a slight second that she _knew_ what this girl had the princess lacked. And that was time for Curdie. It dawned on her then that that's probably why he was with her instead of Irene… they'd spent more time together. Irene groaned and let her head fall forward, hitting her forehead on her knees. How could she be so silly?

The goblin prince shook his head. He had to hand it to her, if he was in her position and stood up by someone as low as this sun-boy, he'd flip out too. But he couldn't tell if it was because she really liked him or if it was simply because she hadn't gotten her way. If there was one thing he had learned when trying to kidnap a princess was that the majority of them weren't as grateful as they could have been, and that irked him. Try sleeping in a cave your entire life, _then_ would they have the right to complain.

But still… he could have a little fun with this, even if he was half awake.

"Hey, like you said, I'm a prince that's still single," he laughed, earning probably the hundredth glare from the girl within ten minutes.

"The only reason _you_ would like to marry me is so you can lock me up and have your way with any human you'd like," she retorted bitterly, "Not to mention you tried forcing me to marry you when I was _ten_! If you tried waiting until I was older it might have turned out a little different, but you would still end up where you are now either way."

"Are you saying that you'd consider marrying me if I actually _liked_ you, and waited until you were at a respectable age?" he asked.

Irene faltered for a moment, feeling her cheeks heat up at the question before shaking her head, "Pfft! _No_!"

"Really, now," the prince laughed, "I probably would not enjoy the idea of growing fond of you either. But for the record, if I do ever marry, that person would be the only one I spend my time with."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That I wouldn't just lock you up and have my way with whomever I liked. When I was thirteen that idea might have been appealing but now that I'm nearing that age where desperation comes to mind, they would be my spouse for a reason. Not just to fulfill some evil plot. I tried that once, it failed. Miserably."

Irene's cheeks felt like fire and for a moment she thought her spell had backfired onto her face as well before realizing that it was actually her. She never knew he'd actually put _thought_ into something and listening to him talk so logically with his lisp was somewhat entertaining. Along with her blush which she eventually forced down, Irene let out a short laugh.

"I can't take you seriously on that. One, you're a goblin, and two, your lisp sounds funny when you say that," she giggled, resting her head on her knees in attempt to hide her face. Froglip snarled at her as she laughed, trying hard to think of a nasty retort to help him recover from such a sentimental speech. Whatever had made him admit to such a thing was going to pay for that later, and hopefully he could address the situation properly after he had gotten more hours to sleep. He gave up after he realized that he wasn't coming up with anything.

Irene giggled and looked back up at him, her blue eyes much brighter than they were a second ago.

"Please say all of that again, it's actually cheering me up a bit."

Froglip looked at her with a dead-pan expression before lifting a fist with his middle finger sticking straight up, the back of his hand facing towards Irene. She was taken aback slightly by the gesture, more or less confused.

"What does that mean?" she asked curiously, cocking her head to the side as if she could see it better that way. Froglip lowered his hand to his side and rested his head against the rock.

"It's sign language for 'I dislike you.' But for you it could be a polite way of saying so too."

Irene smirked and leaned her head against the tree, hearing the waterfall off in the distance. She actually wasn't that far from it, it's where she initially planned on stopping when she was retreating to the woods in the first place. But she was so worked up that she kept going until traveling through the shrubs became tiring, and found this little spot.

Which reminded her that it was actually the Goblin Princes spot to brood quietly while watching the kingdom.

"Do you still want to take over the kingdom?" she asked tiredly, watching everything from so high above was definitely a different perception on the place. She would definitely be coming here more often, despite how greedy Froglip may be.

"That's one of the reasons I come here a lot," he admitted, "To think on whether or not I still want to be surrounded by all of you sun-people with your soft heads and all."

And there was the insult she was waiting for.

"But then I come here to wonder how different things would be if I had succeeded. You are right, I would have locked you away until your skin wrinkled due to the lack of sun you would get. If I had gotten you successfully mother still wouldn't be so mad at me, that's for sure."

The princess snorted in short laughter, trying to picture the Goblin Prince's mother with a brand new pair of rock shoes, stepping on her son's feet. Froglip glared at her before deciding he was too tired and would rather not share anymore with her. He needed to keep his mouth shut. The next time caught her out here he was definitely making sure he was more awake so that he wouldn't talk so seriously. Wasn't the point of coming up here to chase her off anyway?

He looked up at the tops of the trees providing a constant shade on the area, which reminded him that this was also one of the few places he _could_ retreat. Everywhere else was too sunny during the day and open-spaced at night.

Irene sighed and lifted her head to look around. Her cat was missing.

"Turnip?" she called, hoping her cat would answer.

"Hopefully something ate him," Froglip replied dryly, dismissing the situation with a wave of his hand. Irene scowled at his remark and sat up to look around. Yep, Turnip was definitely not here. He probably fled once he realized the Goblin Prince had shown up and ran back to the castle. Irene was surprised that he hadn't come back to check on her just yet, but she might run into him on the way back.

"I should probably get going so I could find him," she started, not knowing how exactly to say goodbye to someone she isn't really interested in seeing again. Froglip just shrugged, closing his eyes sleepily and yawning. Irene frowned, and turned to face him fully before leaving.

"You're actually not so bad to talk to when you're not trying to kidnap me," she said with a confused look on her face, "None the less, you are almost a king in your underground palace anyway. So to be respectful, and thankful that you didn't kidnap me," she curtseyed before him and turned to walk away.

"I was actually hoping you'd reward me with a kiss," he called after her while opening one eye to watch her leave. He saw Irene's hand fly up behind her, making a fist with her ring finger sticking straight up. Froglip cackled loudly, "That's the wrong finger!"

She paused for a second to look down at her hand and flex her fingers before sticking her fist up once more, now with the correct middle finger showing off. Froglip chuckled before slowly getting up form his spot and heading back down into the cave. Irene could definitely learn a thing or two from him, he thought while crawling back down into the goblin village. Damn, he was tired…

* * *

**_A/N:_** Forgot to mention up top. Irene's Great-Great-Grandmother has magic, I figured a nice touch would be that she would have to learn it too eventually. A twist, though, that learning Magic is very dangerous and can actually kill you if it backfires wrong. But not learning it will cause the Magic to sort of break down your body.

Again, these are just for fun so no flames, please. If you don't like it then say so nicely, and if you criticize please do so nicely. Thanks for reading! =D


	2. Meow

**_A/N: _**I had this written out pretty quick. After this one I'll be sure to update Paradise Lost before updating this again, I promise. The idea for this one though cracked me up, I had to do it!

This one is titled Meow and you'll see why in a moment. The thought came to me and... I couldn't resist. Hope you enjoy!

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Princess and The Goblin

* * *

_**Five hours ago.**_

"You are getting a little better at casting spells, Irene," Great-Great-Grandmother complimented the princess while she flexed her fingers. Irene was in awe that she had just pulled that off at all, and looked over at the pile of ashes that _used_ to be a chair. A slow, smug grin slowly crossed her features.

_Next time I see that goblin, he is _toast_!_

Irene still had the reunion between her and that sad excuse for a prince fresh in her mind, even if it were two weeks ago. Sure, she went home, cried for a week, and refused to take any messages from Curdie when he sent them. He had no clue she had found out about his little blonde friend. But Lootie had always said, _If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all_. So she didn't reply to any of them.

Which reminded her that her beloved maid was retiring this week.

Irene sighed sadly and looked up at her grandmother just as the apparition touched her shoulder gently.

"Are you alright, Irene?"

Irene nodded slowly. Grandmother smiled as her hand retreated, "Good. Now that you have been able to cast a few spells correctly, you must now _write _them."

The Princess only half paid attention to what her grandmother had said. All she had gotten out of it was something about another spell. Sighing heavily, Irene took a seat on the chair said grandmother had regenerated after she had blown it up, and waited patiently for the large spell book to be floating in front of her.

When it finally appeared, though, Irene was confuse.

"Um… where's the spell?"

"You have to write it, darling," her grandmother replied sweetly. Irene gave her a look that questioned her grandmother's sanity. The elderly woman only nodded her head in the direction of the book, beckoning her to do so. Sighing heavily, Irene twitched her fingers and a quill pen appeared in them. She paused again, this time even more confused.

"What do I write?"

Her grandmother chuckled and took the pen from her granddaughter's fingers, jotting down a few notes for Irene to remember.

"Well when writing a spell you have to make sure that it is something that hasn't been written before. Now, a fun idea would be a transformation spell."

"Transformation?" Irene half yelped, wondering if Grandmother was suggesting she turned herself into an animal. The woman giggled and nodded, pointing a finger at the sleeping Turnip who was curled up by the fireplace provided by said grandmother on their entry to the tower.

"What do you want me to do? Turn him into a dog?"

"That would be good practice, actually," her grandmother smiled. Irene looked at Turnip. Hopefully he wouldn't hate her for this later.

* * *

_**Now**._

So waking up to your father sneezing in your face was something quite usual for Froglip. However, waking up to him sneezing in his face, and shortly followed by is mother's angry blows to his ass with her stone shoes, was not.

The Goblin Prince didn't even know what had set her off. But after he had woken up a little bit, and began nursing his bottom, he heard what it was.

"Your stupid cat-thing is crying out there. Go shut it up," his mother grumbled. Froglip rubbed the back of his head and looked to his father for support. The king just shrugged and gave him an apologetic look before turning away. The Goblin Prince scowled at his parents' direction, chewing on the corner of his right lip with the two molars he had. His left ear perked up, picking up a small noise he could hardly identify.

Froglip stayed silent, even held his breath, so he could hear it again. Very faintly one could hear it, a small cry of some sort. He could understand why his mother would think of it as being that goblin cat of his, but that's not it.

After a moments hesitation, the Goblin Prince followed the sound by ear to a boulder, which covered the entryway into a tunnel that eventually led to that wonderful view on those pathetic Sun-Peoples' kingdom. Between this entryway and the exit, though, was a seemingly endless trail that climbed upward.

When the journey was over, Froglip fell panting with his nose brushing the shrub that hid the exit, trying to catch his breath.

And then he could hear it more clearly.

"How frustrating!"

Froglip groaned.

It was that _Sun-Princess_.

"Haven't I told you that this is my spo…!"

He froze mid-sentence after he had crawled halfway through the exit and sent a nasty glare in the direction he thought she would be.

Staring back at him was _not_ the princess.

"What?"

Okay so it sounded a _lot_ like the princess.

"What on Earth happened to your face?" Froglip asked with the hint of a smile playing his lips. He didn't like how sincere the question sounded but any second he thought he was going to die laughing. The person in question shot him a glare that seemingly glowed in the dark.

"Nothing," it remarked, looking back at the castle.

The figure was somewhat silhouetted against the silver lighting of the full moon, making everything at night just as visible as it would be during the day. But Froglip _had_ been able to spot a difference with her and it was mainly her eyes. Though they were still blue, they were large and almond-shaped, and the pupils were slits that changed size each time she focused on something. One thing for sure, though, this was definitely Irene, that useless Sun-Princess.

As if deciding upon it himself wasn't enough, the goblin straightened his posture after exiting the cave fully and began closing the distance between himself and the princess. Something on her head decided at that moment to stick straight up and look in his direction. Froglip paused and tensed, balancing himself on one foot while in mid-step. Soon as the object folded back down he let his foot touch the ground. He snapped a twig just as he was standing on both feet which caused the princess to jump up and whirl around, facing him fully and alert.

He laughed. So hard.

Froglip thought he was going to soil himself.

And here Irene was, scowling in his direction.

The Goblin Prince paused in his laughing to catch his breath, then pointed at her and began stuttering into louder guffaws. The princess… looked so humiliated. Through the tears streaming from his eyes, Froglip could still see her features perfectly. Her eyes, large blue and cat-like, squinted in a glare in his direction while a long, furry tail with a black stripe around it twitched at her feet. The objects on her head were two large, cat-like ears and her face and arms were covered in fur. From her snout down to her chest the fur was white, as well as her left… paw. Everything else was grey and Froglip just couldn't help it. He snorted so loud his nose might as well have fallen off.

Though she still had her long red hair, and her white nightgown on, he could see her feet were larger than normal, actually a lot more paw-like. Her hands were paws as well.

"Here, puss, puss, puss!" the Goblin Prince laughed. Irene's ears folded back slightly in agitation, trying to pick up any other sounds rather than his annoying laugh.

"It isn't funny!" she yelled, hissing. Froglip still didn't move from his position on the ground and had finally ceased his snorting, though he was still laughing pretty hard. Irene let out a low growl, stopping when she noticed her tail was flicking angrily beneath her skirt. Her face flushed and she sat down, holding her tail to the ground with her paws. She gave one last glare at the goblin and sighed, her ears drooping some. He wasn't going to take her seriously, just like how the entire kingdom wasn't taking her seriously.

"Froglip, when are you supposed to be king?"

The Goblin Prince paused in his laughing and sat up, sitting in a similar fashion the princess was a good five feet across from her. His face hardened into an expression of bitter annoyance now that she had brought that up.

"Why would _I_ tell _you_?" he demanded crossly, glaring at her as if she might betray him. Irene rolled her eyes and looked back at the prince, the tip of her tail beginning to twitch in an annoyed manner. She quickly noticed this and moved her right paw over to hold it down and stop it.

"Well then I'll tell you if you tell me."

"Why would I care?" Froglip shrugged, leaning back some and looking up at the moon.

"Well what do you want then? We're not fighting over anything right now, why so hostile?"

"Hmm, lets see," he began using his fingers to count, "You refused to marry me when we wouldn't have even _done_ anything. You stepped on my feet, sang so that I would cry, made me look like a fool and finally, threw me over a waterfall."

Irene stared point-blank at him with her ears folded back against her skull guiltily. But then she remembered… oh right!

"I was ten, you despicable creature! I was no where _near_ the proper age to marry, I didn't want to be locked away with you, you _kidnapped me_!" she paused in her angry rant, watching his face light up when she had called him despicable, "You almost killed Curdie, and-"

He cut her off by laughing harder. Irene waited impatiently while he wiped his tears. After he had calmed himself by taking a few deep breaths, he refocused his yellow eyes on her with a hint of amusement in them.

"That sun-boy," he said with a half laugh, "Sounds like it wouldn't of mattered anymore, does it?"

Irene snarled and lunged at him, letting out a feline-like cry as she did so. Froglip had hardly any time to react and by the time she had gotten him good on the shoulder, he kicked her off with his large feet. The princess leapt off and immediately straightened herself. Almost instantly she saw what she had done and smirked.

"Serves you right, you nasty thing!"

Froglip gave her a blank stare before covering the spot with his cape, ignoring the slight amount of blood trickling down from the bite mark.

"You actually _bit_ me!" he said through clenched teeth. Irene turned her nose up at him with a smile, crossing her arms. It was her turn to look amused.

"Don't try that right now darling, I'm afraid my temper is becoming rather short," Irene said teasingly, while looking the least bit interested in him and more interested in watching her claws flex while shining them against the breast part of her nightgown, "After all, I don't know how long I'm going to stay like this. Normally backfires don't last too long, but I'll be crowned queen in a month, even though Father is in more than enough good health to rule."

"You and I both," Froglip rolled his eyes, forgetting how annoyed he was a second ago, "Mother has hardly let me breathe giving me so many duties! And the people complain all the time about her shoes but I can't do anything about them! She's always-"

"Froglip!"

"Speak of the devil," Irene cooed, giving Froglip a sly smile that showed her now very long canines. Froglip gulped and turned around, only to become face-to-face with his mother.

Several things ran though his mind. But all of them said practically the same thing.

_I'm so dead…_

There were many factors to this. For one, he didn't do what she asked. He didn't shut the cat up(even if it turned out to be the princess). He actually made more noise and if she were to _ever_ find out that he had been talking to the sun-girl without any attempts of revenge at her, he wouldn't be able to move for _weeks_.

"Who are you talking to?" his mother demanded. Froglip swallowed, then slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder and had to do a double-take.

Where'd the princess go?

"Well?" the Goblin Queen demanded angrily, her light pink hair sticking out on end in anger. His head whipped back around to face her as if to answer, but his voice was caught in his throat. Standing right behind his mother, trying to slide across the rock was Irene, moving silently as she could to get away. The Goblin Queen backed up from her son as if to look at him further, causing Irene to press herself further against the wall to get away.

Froglip knew that instant that if he didn't lure her away from her and gave the princess a means of escape, he'd be in big trouble. Didn't matter if she got in trouble or not, he just didn't want _his_ ass kicked.

"Mother, just look!" Froglip said lightly, grabbing her elbow and escorting her towards the view, "Just look at this wonderful view!"

Irene began to move further way when she stopped, looking at the two warily. This wasn't right…

"It's ugly," his mother huffed, pulling away from her son, "Now quit keeping your secret. Who were you talking to?"

Irene crawled up the trunk of a tree and settled herself on a branch, sitting on all fours and waiting patiently. She could feel the tip of her tail flicking, waiting, her shoulders squaring themselves. If Froglip would help her get out of this mess she might as well have owed him one. Not to mention, no one deserves being thrown over a cliff. She had come to that decision while talking with him. Guess she _did_ feel a little guilty.

The Goblin Queen growled in frustration when Froglip didn't answer right away. Her hand rose as if she were going to backhand him across the face when something dark flew over them, letting out a loud, aggressive roar. The creature was so fast it was almost a blurr, shocking the Queen into fear. She gasped when she could only see the size of it and high-tailed it back to the cave.

Froglip was wincing the entire time, waiting for his mother's blow but when he heard her gasp and retreat, he slowly looked around, looking for the creature. He turned to look over his shoulder and saw the two blue eyes glowing back at him. Irene slid off her perch high off the ground and landed gracefully just a few feet from the Goblin Prince. But as she stepped into the light, Froglip noticed something different about her.

The fur began retreating, and the pads on her paws grew longer, eventually becoming fingers and toes. While the tail retreated, her ears slowly morphed back down to their original position, and the large teeth shrunk back to their normal size. Irene felt the slight sting of all of this as her form changed back into that of a human's. Her ears actually popped a few times so she sat there with her finger in them, trying to make them ache less.

And then she realized that she had stuck her fingers into her ears.

Irene happily pulled her hands in front of her face and smiled, looking from her palms back up at the Prince excitedly.

But he didn't smile back.

Froglip stared at her long and hard for one silent moment, registering what she had just done for him. Not grateful in the least for it, the goblin turned on his heel and left for the cave, leaving Irene alone in the dark to ponder on why he was so upset. One thing was for sure though; she had no excuse for sneaking out this late.

Oh the trouble she will be in now.

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**_A/N:_** I know it's shorter and more fast-paced than the last one, but I still enjoyed writing it. I hope you all enjoyed it as well and if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to let me know! =)


	3. Winter Wonderland Part I

**_A/N:_** Hey guys! As promised, I have this up after I updated **Paradise Lost**. Well... a week after I updated it anyway. So when planning this out while writing the last chapter to PD, I went a little overboard in the outline. This one-shot would be around seventeen pages if I didn't stop here, so I'm going to go ahead and make it a two-shot due to it being so long.

Also, I want to thank **DarkraixCresselia** for giving me the idea for this one. She suggested it and a few scenes and I absolutely loved them! So this entire two-shot is in her honor and I hope she likes it. I tried to be as funny as I could without my writing getting annoying. I know there's a lot of repeated words in it but I'm so sleep-deprived right now, I kind of can't fix it even if I tried. So again, two-shot is dedicated for her, it was her entire idea, and just to remind any others reading this that if you want to suggest anything that you can. =) Thanks so much!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Except mints. I love mints.

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"In order to rule the Goblin Kingdom, you must always make promises you don't intend on keeping."

Froglip groaned inwardly and rolled his eyes, following the smaller creature in front of him while it went down a list of things to cover. Things that Froglip had already been over with his own mom, but was that she-beast wanting to review with him right now? No. She didn't.

So here he was trudging after this small, energetic goblin that was so into his own rambling, he hardly stopped to see if Froglip was keeping up. This resulted in the Goblin Prince being left behind. A lot. But he knew where they were. He knew where they were going. And he knew where they've been. But his mind was too busy replaying the image of Irene smiling up at him, just after she had saved his sorry ass.

He was mad at her. Furious at one point but after about three weeks had gone by, he cooled down… a little. He hasn't seen her since on their-… _his_ little spot up on the mountain. Froglip often had to correct himself on that now too. He wasn't sharing crap with that spoiled little proper, prim, _rotten_ little thing. No! And there wasn't a second he would spend thinking so fondly of her either. She wasn't his hero. He didn't need her help.

And yet Irene probably had just saved him from getting a chipped tooth.

His patience began to wear thin just to think of it, and it had already been thin to begin with.

The creature in front of him was short, up to about his waist not counting his ears. They were the standard large bat-wing-like ears that, from his head, reached Froglip's chest. He wore one loincloth that went down to his knees, almost like a skirt, and was currently holding a rock-shaped clip-board that was almost as big as he was. This little shrimp's name often escaped Froglip's memory, so he had no clue what to call it in order to stop so he could catch up. But the creature kept going. And he never. Stopped. Talking.

"Furthermore I suggest you work on your attitude. You seem too aloof lately on how things are going down here in the kingdom and you need to care less than that. Also, you're not that much of a tyrant. You're quiet and foreboding, but no one has really _watched_ you lose your temper, there's only the rumors. So I suggest that we find a goblin that irks you, and practice lashing out like a true Goblin King does. Your father would be very proud to watch this. Your mother is a perfect example, be just like her and you'll be a better king than your father. Now onto more…"

Froglip's eye twitched a good two or three times before he slowly tensed his long fingers, bringing his hands up just slightly, even with the little shrimp's neck, and followed his target as they began to walk up hill. His hands were about level with his chest when he thought then would be a good time to choke the little bastard. He irks him well enough, how about he started the lashing portion.

Just as his fingers snapped forward for the kill, his long fingers snapped around something soft. Something that definitely _wasn't_ there a second ago.

A small flash of light that seemed to disperse into purple shards, like sparks shooting from a fire shot out in different directions, leaving a faint halo around the being that Froglip was still gripping. He blinked, completely dumbfounded to find that instead of his hands choking the little creature that use to be before him, his fingers were wrapped loosely around another neck he'd like to wring.

The only thing was, she just came out of nowhere.

Froglip blinked again, his voice caught in his throat while the girl looked just as lost for words as he was. Her large blue eyes were probably the size of saucers and her expression could only be one matched with his own. He felt her throat tense under his touch repeatedly while she desperately tried to find something to say. Froglip's left ear twitched up towards the direction of the talking, remembering the little bugger that had been bothering him just moments before. It was still talking while it walked further away, not noticing a damn thing that had just happened behind him.

Which brought his gaze back down to the girl who had raised a fist and punched him in the jaw.

Froglip was shocked and fell backwards, rolling back downhill for just a few seconds until he could shift his weight and regain himself. Part of her knuckle had made contact with one his of his molars, which did hurt a lot for his aching tooth. But to his amusement when he looked back up at her with a full on glare prepared, he couldn't help but snicker at her holding her fist and cradling it, cursing to herself silently.

His amusement faded quickly.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" he growled, low and calm. Irene opened her mouth to yell at him, her sharp intake of breath giving him a clue. But before her words were heard he had quickly stepped up and nearly tackled the girl after rushing toward her, his palm immediately covering her mouth to silence her.

"And be quiet," he said lower, looking up in the direction the smaller goblin had disappeared to. With ears those big, he knew he would hear Irene's shouts. Plus, the girl had a big mouth.

"I was practicing my magic," she whispered harshly once he released her.

"Was it the peek-a-boo spell? Because you weren't there five seconds ago!" Froglip growled pointing at her, still processing that she was even _here_. Irene gave him a flat look and took a deep breath. He could tell she was just as unhappy to be here as he was to see her. And though she would not admit it to anyone else but probably Turnip, Irene was still freaked out that she just happened to appear in front of the Goblin Prince with his hands around her neck.

"No," she said, exhaling the breath that she had just taken in sharply, "It's a transportation spell. It appears that it has _backfired_, and I ended up where I didn't want to be."

"Here?" Froglip questioned, pointing at the ground on the spot they were standing. He was quite sure the human had never been in this spot before. Not even when she was exploring down here for that Sun-Boy nine years ago.

"No, with you," Irene corrected him. Froglip was slightly taken aback by this.

"Hey, you haven't been miss sunshine yourself!"

Irene scoffed and put her hands on her hips, her small nose wrinkling in distaste and growing annoyance. Her weight shifted over to her left foot with her right still sticking out, giving her the appearance of a nagging woman. Froglip winced because her body language had convinced him that she really might scream at him.

"I tried transporting away form you, trust me. If I had it my way, I'd rather be someplace that snows all the time, with temperatures so cold that a fire would freeze in place!"

Just as she started ranting her body began to glow a light lavender color. Her blue eyes brightening, as if they had just caught on fire. Her voice took on a powerful tone, echoing smoothly off the stone walls as if it were coming from a celestial being. Irene's long red hair began to curl demonically, as if she didn't look angry enough.

And still the girl didn't realize that a thing in here had changed. Froglip was scared for his life, thinking that she was about to explode or worse- blow him up. She had every right to. The girl despised him just as much as he despised her, but still. Irene looked _scary_ when she's mad. Absolutely terrifying.

"…and if I had it my way I would send you some place so far away the sun will NEVER SHINE!"

Froglip pounced at her the moment she started yelling, screaming his own protests to get her to stop but it was like she was already so angry, there was no stopping her. He'd have better luck saving the world than stopping Irene right now. But just as he was close enough to touch her and silence her just as he had before, Froglip felt something in him pull. It was like his very soul was being ripped from his body, causing him to freeze in place with his hand outstretched towards Irene.

Irene herself looked like she exploded into a smaller, purple version of the sun, her body sending out such bright shades of light that it nearly blinded him for good. Froglip lost his footing and, for a moment, his coordination as he staggered on his feet, something pulling him away from the girl. The light dimmed, and after a second of disorientation and seeing spots before his eyes, Froglip finally fell.

Into a pile of snow.

He lay there for a moment ignoring the freezing cold to let himself start to feel his arms and legs again.

"…Well that's just perfect!" he heard Irene scream, listening to the snow crunch under her feet while she let out roars of outrage. Froglip groaned hearing it, because right now she sounded exactly like his mother. Only less of a bitch.

"Where are we?" he asked from his face-down position in the snow, still trying to process the cold feeling that would probably be way-below-zero degrees. He wasn't sure if his toes were still numb from the sensation of being pulled or if it was just so cold that his foot might actually be falling off.

"I don't know," Irene whined, hugging herself. He could hear her teeth chattering from five feet away.

"Well that's just dandy."

He could feel his hair blowing strong with the wind that had just picked up and felt the snowflakes hit his back repeatedly at a fast pace, his skin so cold and sensitive that each time a flake hit, it felt like a rock. Froglip needed to get out of this weather. And by the sound of her teeth chattering and harsh breathing, so did Irene.

Irene felt so guilty she'd rather just freeze to death right here. Out of her own arrogance she had sent herself here, and even brought Froglip along with her. What was eating away at her right now? He didn't even do anything this time. She looked at his outstretched form in the snow and sighted heavily, fighting and straining her muscles to force her teeth to stop chattering, and herself to stop shivering. She needed to find shelter.

Shelter… shelter… Ah-hah!

There was a cave not too far away, just a small opening big enough for them to enter one at a time. Irene didn't hesitate for a second to even reconsider. She walked over to the Goblin Prince and stared down at his body, wondering if he had even passed out yet or not. There was only one way to find out…

"OW!" Froglip yelled just as he felt a sharp jab in his ribcage. He clumsily got up to his feet and glared at the girl, his yellow eyes dark and menacing, "Did you just kick me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"To get you up. There's shelter over there."

"Can't you just zap us back to where we were?"

Irene's face flushed with embarrassment and started to avoid eye contact with the goblin before her. Her awkward expression put Froglip on edge, something in the back of his mind clicking in realization. He knew the last few times he had seen this girl that she had a bit of a problem trying to learn magic.

"You-"

"I forgot," she squeaked, answering him before he even asked. Irene then cringed away from him as if expecting him to slap her. Froglip watched her recoil like this for upwards three breaths before walking away, almost so angry that he just wanted to bite his tongue. The Princess slowly relaxed and followed him, her muscles tensing up and causing her to shiver again. It was too cold for this crap.

The entrance to the cave was pretty slim. Froglip had fit through it just fine, considering he was tall and slim, still, only a slightly bigger build. Either way, he still fit. Irene on the other hand had gained something every woman gets: curves. She has them in the front, and in the back, and the fact that she is a princess with the biggest dress money could buy didn't help. It took Irene about five minutes to get into the crack, and a little longer to fit all the way through into the sheltered cave. Froglip watched all of this with amusement, raising one eyebrow when Irene finally got her torso out the other end of the entrance, then struggled more to get the rest of herself through.

It had to have been the funniest thing he'd ever seen.

Almost as funny as Irene being a cat.

Out of breath, the princess landed on the cold hard floor with a tired sigh, it being her turn to be the one sulking on the ground. Froglip crossed his arms and shuddered; it was colder in here than it was outside! His lungs had a bit of trouble breathing, and it kind of hurt to breathe anyway. The air was so cold to his nostrils that it actually burned to inhale. This was nuts!

"Aren't you going to do something about how freezing it is in here, magic lady?" he growled, his voice strained by his shivering. Irene's own body began to shiver, her now wet, torn dress doing nothing to protect her from the cold.

"How about we build a fire?" Irene suggested. Froglip nodded, "Yes, now hop to it."

"Okay, stand still, you're going to be the wood."

"What?"

"You heard me," she grumbled, slowly sitting up so that she was on her knees.

"You're joking, right?" Froglip asked, starting to feel even colder. She really was planning on setting him on fire.

"Does it look like I'm joking?" she grumbled, then paused, her lips twitching into a soft, tired smile, "Because I am."

Not cool. Forglip glared at her while Irene twitched her fingers, focusing on a spot on the ground just between the two. Within seconds a large, bright orange and red fire grew on the spot. The flames reached to be the height of the girl herself, and the heat from the fire immediately warmed him. Sighing with relief, the goblin sat in front of the fire and crossed his legs, his body still giving off shivers that he tried to force himself to stop. It didn't take long for him to realize that despite the fire, he was still cold. Irene looked at him and saw this, her frown deepening in thought.

If he froze to death out here it would be her fault.

"Here," she murmured, getting up on her feet and slipping off her dress. Froglip watched, his expression one of horror, feeling about as warm as the fire. Was she really stripping in front of him? He felt himself frozen in place watching while the pink fabric slipped over her head, leaving nothing but the chemise she wore underneath. For a moment he had to kick himself for being slightly disappointed that hadn't come off as well. Scowling more at himself than at her, Froglip quickly looked away once Irene's head was clear out of the skirt and she could look around. She caught his flushed face though, her own scowl distorting her face.

"I'm not doing anything," she growled as if he was assuming something, which he probably was. Froglip nodded and but didn't look at her again, opening his mouth and murmuring his question with such embarrassment that his voice was almost muted, "Why did you take off your dress?"

"Because the snow and ice I was against trying to get in here soaked it. I'm letting it dry while I try to remember how to do that spell," Irene replied casually while walking around to the other side of the fire, spreading her dress out on a rock close by. She didn't understand. Just because she was in her underwear didn't necessarily mean she had dirty thoughts. And she wasn't even embarrassed herself considering that one, she'd freeze to death still trying to wear that drenched thing, and two, she didn't even have such thoughts about Froglip in any way. Her chemise wasn't even a pretty one! Sure it was spaghetti strapped but it's custom made to go down to her knees, and the fabrics used are solid. Nothing was showing besides her bare shoulders, arms, and shins. And right now fashion was not her priority. They could really die out here if they stayed cold for too long. Just because she figured out the fire spell doesn't mean it will magically help them forever.

Foglip lowered his head and shielded his eyes away from the casual Irene, still freaked out that she'd even be brave enough to do such a thing in his presence. It was so un-lady-like of her, so out of character, and it irked him so much that he ignored the logic behind her choice.

A pair of arms wrapped around his waist causing Froglip to jump. He pulled away and wrenched himself from the girls grasp. His face was fully red now and his breath was quickening.

"What the hell are you doing?" he screamed, backing away from the now standing Irene. She crossed her arms and glared at him. What was that Sun-Girl trying to do? First she takes her dress off and then she's all over him. Humans were disgusting to begin with, but this was just overkill. Irene was really starting to scare him. What on earth had gotten in her head?

"You're still shaking!" Irene argued when she stood, crossing her arms in attempt to warm herself. Given she was a little warmer without her freezing dress on, but more skin was exposed now and she was still very cold. An idea had come to her when putting her dress somewhere to dry. And now he jumps to an even _worse_ conclusion. This couldn't get any more stupid!

"And I thought I'd share some body heat to help you warm up. You're wearing less clothes than I am," her arm flew forward to emphasize Froglip's loincloth. Froglip scowled. This had to have been the most awkward situation he'd ever been in. The Goblin Prince crossed his arms and fought back another shiver, trying to show that he did not need her to touch him. Honestly, in this state, and in her chemise, her touching him was the _last_ thing he had wanted.

"I don't need you to touch me. I have my cape," he said, hugging himself with the fabric as if that were a good enough excuse. Irene watched him with a deadpan expression, closing the distance between them. Froglip frowned deeper, watching her criticizing expression when she walked toward him.

"Your ears are still cold," she pointed out, looking at the large bat-like ears that were shivering on their own. Irene reached up and rubbed them, her thumb caressing the inside while her fingers were stroking the outside. It was the same way she pet Turnip's ears when the old cat got cold in the winter time. And right now Froglip kind of reminded her of him.

Despite the fact he didn't want to be touched, or that he was rude and mostly ugly, Irene couldn't help but feel sorry for him. This time he really did nothing wrong and she brought him here, in this winter wonderland, when the only thing he was wearing was his trademark cape. And the loincloth.

But Froglip would have none of it. After a few seconds in shock while Irene rubbed his ears and… actually warmed them, Froglip's puzzled expression snapped back into a threatening sneer, pulling away from her faster than a snake could strike at its prey.

"I said don't touch me!" he growled, turning and walking to the opposite side of the fire. Irene sighed and face-palmed, taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Keep calm, Irene," she told herself, mimicking Grandmother's tone, "It's just his pride speaking."

This was going to be a very long night.

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**_A/N:_** So I cut it off here because I thought it would be appropriate. Froglip won't let Irene touch him... just yet. Stay tuned because he just may get a little desperate for some warmth. ;) And Irene taking her dress off was a part I added, I figured it would be more awkward and I'm sure that it would be harder to warm up wearing something that's cold and wet. Part two will be just as interesting, if not then more so, and the fluff hasn't even started yet. Hope you enjoyed!

**DarkraixCresselia:** I'm really glad you're loving these so far! The beginning of this was a little slow and I made it a little fast-paced, but I enjoyed every minute of writing it just thinking "Oooohhh, Darkrai is gonna love this!" And I really hope you did. =) Sorry Froglip and Irene haven't really shared body-heat like you suggested yet. They will, I promise, he just has to get over himself a little. And when I wrote that last one, I thought about making her orange, but then again, making her look like Turnip was cute too. I hope this one was just as worth the wait as the last and I promise that part two will be coming out sooner. =)


	4. Winter Wonderland Part II

_**A/N:**_ Finally I have this finished! Lol, it's about time, right? Well, I don't have much to say right now other than a disclaimer, but I will say that I don't think this chapter is as funny as the last few guys, I'm sorry. =( I tried, I really did, but I don't think my funny bone was working much while typing this... Anyway, I'll let you read it now.

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't on PaTG.

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Irene sat about as close to Froglip as he would allow her, which was probably a minimum of twelve feet. Her soft red lips were pursed into a soft scowl that she normally pulled on her father when she wasn't allowed to do something. She kept the facial expression because, a bit of her hoped that he would cave and say it was cute and allow her to help the goblin prince. But after a bit he had to do the most manly thing a person, or in this case, goblin, could do.

"Why are you making that ugly face at me?"

Her light scowl hardened into a full on, deadpanned glare that didn't answer Froglip's question at all. His shoulders shrugged up and he held out his hands, palms up, as if he hadn't a clue why she seemed angrier at the statement. The princess rolled her eyes and let out a loud sight, glaring at the fire instead. It had been about thirty minutes since she had tried to warm him up in the first place and not getting her way with this was really tugging at her. She seriously pulled the cutest pouty-face she could muster, and he called her _ugly_? The nerve!

They sat in silence for a few more moments, Froglip going over how he was going to get out of here and Irene still fuming at the ugly-statement. She actually wasn't this vein but if a _goblin_ called her ugly that was pretty bad. At least in her book.

Froglip glanced at the seething princess next to him before looking back at the fire. She was doing the same thing his mother did to his father. His parents weren't separated or divorced in any way but he had witnessed enough fights between them to recognize the signs. Irene has been eerily quiet since he asked her why she was looking at him, her muscles were tense and her facial expression has been the same for the past five minutes. He looked uneasily back at the fire and took a deep breath.

Five… four… three… two…

"I'm not ugly!"

He knew he shouldn't have said that.

"Does it matter if you are?"

"Well do you really think I am?"

"_Why_ in the _world_ does my opinion even matter to you?"

Irene opened her mouth to retort but her voice caught in her throat. After a second, her mouth still hanging open from the shock of her realization, she blinked and retreated from her offensive position. Why _did_ she care about his opinion on her looks? Despite that calling her ugly was absolutely offensive, Froglip had no room to talk. He wasn't exactly prince charming himself!

"I don't," she finally stammered, still regaining some of her composure by straightening her posture and turning her nose away from him. Froglip raised an eyebrow at her before shrugging and turning back to the fire. After a moment he glanced back at her now slumped form once more, his mind coming up with ways to torment her over this.

"So what would you have done if I called you otherwise?" he asked, leaning over slightly on the girl who looked absolutely repulsed. She leaned away from him and before he could get another word in her expression darkened.

"I've already punched you once today," she threatened, "Would you like double that?"

Froglip stopped in mid-lean and gulped before silently leaning back into his original spot.

Approximately four more minutes went by before Irene looked over to see Froglip still shivering. It annoyed her to hear his teeth constantly chattering yet it made her feel sorry to see him in such a vulnerable state. This was _not_ how she pictured the fearsome Goblin Prince when he was trying to kidnap her so many years ago. Though he was still that same goblin occasionally, right now just wasn't one of those moments.

Without saying a word, Irene leaned over and began to gently rub the goblin's ears. Froglip stiffened at first, glancing over at her with a terrified look in his eyes. But after a moment he realized that he shouldn't actually care whether or not he was being touched. Right now if he shivered any longer he just might freeze to death out here. After swallowing his pride and… a few other feelings he began to loosen up, drooping his eyes slightly. He had to admit, it did warm him up. Irene eventually began to rub his arms, forearms, and wrapped him in a tight hug that made him want to reconsider.

He _did_ feel warmer, but this was just too close. The Goblin Prince tried to just take in the warmth and forget the fact that it was a human trying to share body heat with him, but the image of Irene holding him like this just crept right back up to the front of his brain. Eventually he lost the battle with himself and scowled.

"I can't do this," he said flatly, pushing Irene away. The redhead scoffed, and crossed her arms before a thought entered her mind.

"Are you just nervous because I'm a girl?"

Froglip's ears perked at her question and he turned to her, eyes narrowed, "I'll have you know that I've had _plenty_ of women in my lifetime, and no you do not make me nervous," he snapped, each word drawing him nearer to the princess. Irene wasn't taken aback at all, satisfied that she had clearly struck a nerve but she wasn't finished. As he drew nearer she realized the bigger victory held in this small standoff and therefore she held her ground, stretching her pink lips into a sly grin, "You just don't seem to understand that Goblins and Humans have thought of each other as hideous for generations and I am _not_ about to be the first to change his mind, no matter how difficult you make it. So no, just because you are a girl isn't why I am nervous."

By the time he was finished Froglip's nose was barely toughing Irene's. Her sapphire eyes were half closed, eyebrows raised, and sly grin stretched further out into a smug one. Froglip's eyes widened slightly at the realization that he just suggested something so sick his mother might as well throw up. He backed away from Irene's winning smile just as she made her victory comment, "So I'm _not_ really ugly."

He wanted something to retort, something to grumble but the look on his face would probably ruin any comment he had left. Instead he forced down the flushing of his cheeks and swallowed, hard, so that he could breathe again past the lump gathering in his throat.

Irene took his silence as the trophy to her little victory. She tried to help, tried to be nice, tried everything her father and his first maid had taught her to be a polite lady but _nothing_ was working. She very much so wanted to hit him upside his big head but how she just embarrassed him was worth far more. Straightening her posture and scooting away from him, Irene held out her hands, palms out, to warm them against the fire.

After getting over herself and her victory, she allowed her real mood to surface; disappointment. How on earth could she forget the spell that brought them here? And how come her grandmother hadn't magically found them yet? It had probably been a good hour or two since she's been gone, how can Irene _not_ get tracked? And did her father miss her? Because surely he had no clue of these magic lessons and as far as she knew, it could be dawn by now and the servants would be looking for her. And her new maid, _ugh_!

As much as Irene wanted to stay out here she had to get home, and the more she thought about that the more her mind wondered to how she had forgotten the blasted spell in the first place. Was she stupid? Certainly this had to be some sort of backfire that caused her to forget it but she just couldn't think of anything.

Froglip started tapping his foot on the dirt ground, drawing Irene's attention back toward him after it was finally away from him. The goblin prince kept his gaze averted and twitched his ear nervously, hoping her attention would be drawn from him. But as soon as he began to tap his foot on the cold, stone ground, he heard the faint sound of drums beating at the same tempo. He looked curiously at the fire as said drum began to shape in the flames. Quickly he looked at Irene to see it was her doing, her blue eyes glowing with amusement while her mind focused on the flames.

"Do you like puppet shows?" she asked as the flames grew and more drums joined the first, beginning to play a tune that Froglip could only describe as earthy.

"I use to watch them as a child," he confessed softly, mesmerized by the drums in the fire, "Mother stopped making me watch them when I turned eight."

Irene frowned, almost sympathetic for him and quickly remembered the snide comment he had made earlier. And the ones following it.

She's watched puppet shows ever since she would sit up long enough to watch them. Before her mother died, that is. She vaguely remembered the poorly made puppets that made her laugh and scream with joy. Irene watched them until she was at least thirteen, when she decided she no longer wished to see them. But Froglip had to give them up at eight? What kind of mother would do such a thing?

Irene refocused on the fire and the drums grew louder. Even more so as she stood up.

"You know, when Curdie and I were still allowed to see each other we would build a fire in the woods and sit around it," she said, her chest feeling empty at the memory but forced herself to continue, "On nights that we were cold we would dance around the fire. I didn't know if you were still freezing but it's just a suggest-"

"I don't dance."

"Oh come on, do you _want _to freeze to death?"

"No, but I don't dance, _and_ I don't cuddle with Sun-People!"

"It's not even really _dancing_!"

"Then what is it?"

The drums ceased and Irene leaned closer, her eyes filled with mischief.

"Do you want to know a secret?"

The abrupt subject change brought Froglip to a screeching halt in his thought process. He looked at her wearily but beckoned her to continue with the raise of an eyebrow. Irene adjusted her position so she was facing him a little better now, licking her lips, obviously excited she had remembered the news.

"A few months back, Father just recently heard rumors that another continent was found. A whole new continent! I don't remember the name of the man who found it, but there were more rumors spread that the natives there lived in the _wild_! No buildings or anything, they hunted the animals the could find in the area."

Irene's excitement towards this news confused Froglip to no end. Who cares if there was another continent found? It had nothing to do with either of them and it wasn't as if they were going to go someday anyways. But he let her continue without interrupting, "But most of all there's all these tales on how they have these rituals."

By this time Irene started to stand and the drums started once more, picking up where they left off, "They would build a fire and smoke from these huge pipes!" she exclaimed, the smoke in the fire beginning to change colors, "And the others would dance around it, but not really dance like… skipping."

She demonstrated the dance, skipping around the fire and twirling when she reached the place near where she started. Irene bent down to Froglip's eye-level, her excitement growing, "And they would do this to contact witht heir _gods_."

"Gods?" Froglip scoffed. Before he could say anymore Irene had taken hold of his wrists and hoisted the Goblin Prince to his feet. He couldn't protest at all and he hadn't a clue why. Irene spun and pulled her weight away from his, causing him to spin too and eventually he was forced to skip along with her. Irene let go of one of his wrists and spun herself in a circle, feeling light on her feet as she danced just like others had described the Indians dancing. Irene spun again to see that Froglip was actually _following_ her!

She had to admit that when she let go of him she mostly expected for the goblin to sit right back down where he was. But he kept dancing along with her and it just made her smile broaden, and the drums make more noises.

After a moment, she didn't know when, but the drums had died down when her focus on them lessened and eventually the only sounds in the cave were her and Froglip's laughter.

Laughter. He was _laughing_ now!

Irene couldn't believe it. She had actually gotten the Goblin Prince to thaw out just enough that he was dancing _and_ laughing. Was she really just passed out somewhere in her room and dreaming?

Froglip didn't care anymore.

He was locked in a cave with the only Sun-Person he sometimes considered murdering, warmed up by a fire that hardly seemed hot, and was dancing and laughing around it like a lunatic. He had finally lost his marbles.

And he just didn't care.

Froglip danced around, following Irene's movements and careful not to stub his toes. At one point, he had gained on her without noticing and only caught a glimpse of her looking at him in mid-spin.

The Goblin Prince _almost_ staggered on his feet. For a moment the look on the girl's face was completely calm and serene. Her long, firey red hair whirled around her as she spun, her huge, blue eyes were half closed in a calm focus that made her look almost too comfortable, and her chemise clung loosely to her figure as she moved. Froglip moved past her, watching her in shock of what he was feeling and kept going straight.

Irene was just finishing another spin, feeling so relieved that she had gotten him to warm up that she almost missed the loud crash that sounded just behind her. Irene turned abruptly to see that Froglip had actually ran _straight_ into the wall.

"Are you okay?" she exclaimed, rushing to his side instantly. Froglip was dazed at first but when he recognized Irene's face hovering over his own he couldn't suppress the frown. He shoved her away with hardly any strength and lisped, "I'm fine! Quit touching me!"

Irene, looking taken aback, stepped away from him and crossed her arms. She opened her mouth, about to retort something, no doubt before she jolted upright at the sound of a new voice.

"Irene!"

She whirled around to see her Great, Great Grandmother standing just a few feet behind her, tapping her foot. It didn't even occur to the princess right away how awkward this probably looked. She followed her grandmother's gaze down to her chemise, and felt her face burn as hot as the fire.

"Uh… Grandmother, it's not what you…"

"Hush hush!" she commanded, unfolding her arms, "I've been looking for you all evening, I could hardly pick up your magic in order to find you. What on Earth are you doing so close to the Poles?" she demanded. Irene's face paled. She was near the _Poles_? How could she have come so far from home!

"And you!" she pointed a finger at Froglip, who had just gotten to his feet but still needed the support of the wall in order to stay erect, "Your mother is worried sick!"

"How do _you_ know?" Froglip challenged before Irene turned and made a sound to silence him, but his gaze never tore from the strange woman now before them both.

"I know a lot of things," she replied, growing less aggravated and more amused, before turning sharply to Irene, "How come you have not come home yet?"

Irene looked guiltily to her dress still drying on the rocks, "I forgot how…"

Without being told she briskly walked over to her still wet dress and gathered it into a folded bundle into her arms. Froglip watched her, now able to stand on his own without the support of the wall, and both turned expectantly to the strange woman who Froglip still didn't know.

"Your father is looking for you too, Irene. I'll send you both home, but don't let this happen again. And you," she turned back to Froglip, though her tone was no longer as strict as it had been, "Don't be getting my great granddaughter into anymore trouble."

Before Froglip could protest, or even say anything at all, everything went dark.

Irene stared at the spot where he once was and turned slowly to her grandmother, shifting her weight from side to side, "Am I in trouble?"

Her grandmother's gaze softened and she shook her head, "Not at all, my child…"

"Even though I was with a goblin?" she asked, surprised that there would be no verdict over this issue.

"Irene," her grandmother started while the room began to glow around them, pulling them away from this place, "That goblin is going to get you into trouble worse than this."

And with that, she was home, in her room, and musing over her grandmother's words. She walked over to her bed where Turnip now lie and picked him up. The cat awoke from his nap and purred softly, rubbing his head into the crook of her neck.

"What on _earth_ could that mean?"

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_**A/N:**_And that's the end of the Winter Wonderland Two-shot! Sorry it wasn't as humorous as the last few one, guys. But at least we got to see the Goblin Prince soften up a _little_ right? Haha! He's not going to be happy the next time he sees Irene...

And now for review replies. Thankyou guys so much for reading, it means a lot to me! =)

_**DarkraixCresselia:**_ Ir eally tortured both of them a lot didn't I? xD I'm glad you love it a lot so far though, I hope this chapter was good too!They definitely flirted a little bit more in it. ;)**  
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_**The Non-Existing**_** Person:** Thankyou so much! =D

_**16 SilverMoon 16:**_ I like cookies! D:

Sorry they're all so short guys. I'm really tired now, but thankyou so much for reading and reviewing!


	5. Contemplations

_**A/N:**_ After a very long and severe case of Writers Block combined with the awful disease known as Not-Enough-Time, I was able to get little to no inspiration on absolutely anything. However, the stress build up in my life drove me to writing _something_ and afterwards now feel admittedly better. Unfortunately this isn't that much because I decided to take baby steps with the next thing I wrote, and not make it that big of a deal.

If you're interested in the semi-plot these shorts have, then you may find interest in this. If not then I'm sorry, it may be boring. This is mostly of Irene's Great-great grandmother, who is having her own moments of stress in Irene's absence. In front of Irene we see her as composed, wise, and very kind woman, but we all know no one is perfect. I'm sure that if the one person that looked up to me wasn't looking, I would go sour with the unfairness of my own life too. Anyway, I hope you get some sort of enjoyment from this, because some parts of it was actually fun to write.

I'll shut up now...

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Great-great grandmother Irene. Great-great… _grandmother_. The ancient ghost heaved a heavy sigh, a human act that had no real physical benefit for her. Despite no longer having a body that needed air, the action was still very calming. Not calming enough, however. Sometimes reality would hit her so hard that if her heart still moved, it would hurt with each beat. _Grandmother_ Irene let her forehead press against the cool glass, her pale blue eyes searching the landscape that yawned endlessly from the castle. If she had any clue that she would be stuck in the world of the living thanks to her mastery of magic, she would have turned down the opportunity to learn it long ago. Hopes that her own daughter would master it slowly waned until it was too late to save her. Trying to teach her first grandchild had proven to be equally as taxing. The next generation, Irene's mother, had been so close. She was the one who had become powerful enough that the backfiring of spells had grown to such a minimum. But… she never made that final step.

She never gained full control of her magic.

Now, as a _great-great grandmother_ (the thought gave her shivers sometimes), she was finding it hard to have any hope at all. This Irene struggled with too many personal matters in order to focus. Spells backfire too many times to count, there's absolutely no hint of what Irene's familiar could be, and she's simply too distracted. At the age of nineteen, she should already have a substantial amount of power which was another thing this girl was lacking…

…at least, until a few days ago.

Irene showed no signs of it. Three days ago when she had returned from the poles, the princess had acted as if nothing happened. Okay, so she was a bit air headed yesterday, but no one just starts glowing with energy overnight. Magic, power, abilities that rivaled her ancestors had begun radiating off of her in such ginormous waves that it scared the old spirit. The worst part was that she had. No. Clue.

The princess could probably move objects without thinking about it, maybe even crush a portion of the castle without blinking. But she had absolutely no idea, couldn't see the amount of power that rested in her palms, had no inkling that she could do anything more than a few mere spells. It was wonderful, yet at the same time absolutely horrifying. There were only two ways this could go: A powerful prodigy who could possibly shake the world off its axis, or a magnificent death for yet another member of this cursed blood line.

It was happening so fast! Usually magic would peak around the time its host would reach the age of twenty-four. Irene was old, but still too young for this to be happening. Another scary thought shook grandmother Irene to the core: What if this isn't the peak of her magic? What if her powers had not yet reached their limit? Within two days' time, the young woman had reached a level that witches and warlocks strived for; all without trying! Without a single idea on how to use it!

Grandmother Irene was at a loss for what to do. She could make the training more intense, but that would be more time consuming on Irene's part. The princess simply had no time anymore, what with striving to become a proper ruler and lady. Another option would be to let nature take its course, allowing her magic to consume her much like it has done to the generations before her. That wouldn't be a good idea at all either; she loved Irene, really she did. However, at this point her magic would not only destroy her but everything within a mile radius around her. If she were to let that happen, then she wasn't doing her job.

Something landed lightly on the older spirit's shoulder, cooing softly into her ear. The old woman shifted her pale blues to gaze at the white dove that perched itself in her company. The white bird shifted its head to look at her better as it cooed. Each time it vocalized its hellos, the pupils would shrink. The avian creature had its own way of making her feel alive again. Either because her feathered friend was the only living object that still acknowledged her (besides Irene, of course), or because the old woman had about half her life source stored in the frail bird's soul. Once more looking out the window, Grandmother Irene went to stroke the soft white feathers, wondering where she'd be without the company of her familiar-

…_**That's it**_!

Irene needed to find her familiar! That would help her better control her magic; finding a companion that shared the same level of power would do much more than the old woman herself could. Familiars were wonderful when it comes to keeping their master's magic in check. Not to mention that company is always nice. Maybe it would help her focus more…

…but _what on earth_ has the same amount of power as Irene?

Turnip certainly has no magic qualities at all. Nothing in the forest or even any of the goblin's creatures held the slightest amount of ability. Well… none that stood out anyway. Grandmother Irene turned back to the large clear, crystal ball that rested on her small table not too far away from the window. Without so much as blinking at it, the clear crystal came to life and began showing images of her great-great grandchild before settling on her current whereabouts.

"With that goblin boy… again…" the old woman sighed. Irene was currently on the mountain once more, standing directly in front of the goblin prince with her hands on her hips and her face contorted in the most un-ladylike fashion. The young woman was currently yelling something at the prince that had his ears pulled flat against his head while she advanced, pointing a couple fingers here and there. The crystal ball did not supply the user with any sound so whatever the girl was screaming for was beyond her grandmother. By the look on the goblin's face, he probably said something he shouldn't have.

Grandmother Irene groaned and dismissed the visualizations; willing the image away and making the crystal ball clear once more. _Always going up to the mountains_, she thought bitterly while staring off in the direction her granddaughter currently was. With as much time she spent in the woods, one would think that she would happen upon a familiar at some point. Wolves could even possibly be of some use to her and yet nothing has stood out. Maybe there was a possibility-a chance that a potential familiar was living on it? As appealing as the idea was, the animal had to have been dormant for quite some time if it had anything compared to what Irene has. Maybe… maybe it's not _on_ the mountain; what if it was _inside _it?

"Bah!" the old woman spat, "Rubbish; this whole situation is rubbish." How silly of her to honestly start thinking like that again. It had been more than a few mere decades since the last time she'd ever let her thoughts venture that far. No, there was something strange about that pile of rocks, but whatever it was probably wouldn't be as grandiose as she started to think. Aside from the goblin boy's presence, there was nothing interesting about that specific location. However… more often than not, even the King has noticed her sudden fondness of the landmark when the girl was caught staring at it every now and then. If her grandmother could read minds she was sure the goblin was the absolute _last_ thing she was thinking about when the girl would stare off at the top of the mountain.

_If you could even call it that_, she thought bitterly to herself before turning from the window and walking retreating to the confines of the attic. _There's hardly anything interesting about an old volcano, anyway._

She needed some tea; a _lot_ of tea.

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_**A/N: **_Sorry it's not much, it was all that I wanted to squeeze out of me at the moment. Like I said, baby steps. Any questions, feel free to ask!


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